Page 56 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2020

Jay Cuevas, one of South Mississippi’s many avid deer hunters, has been hunting since he was a young boy. But after years of hunting, this year he harvested the buck of his dreams.
Early in the 2014 hunting season, Jay was checking one of his trail-cameras when he first saw a nice young deer. “I named this buck Bump Brow because it had a sticker coming off its brow. I estimated him to be around two to three years old,” Jay said. “I figured with time to grow he would end up being a nice one. At the time, I was targeting a buck I called Triple Crown, from his split brow, which I realized from the trail cam pics frequented the same area.”
It was two years later before Jay spotted Bump Brow again. He elected not to take the shot hoping his big buddy might appear. “I passed up a good shot but held off waiting for Triple Crown to
follow.” It proved to be a mistake since that deer failed to show. Then a few weeks later, he had a second chance.
“When Triple Crown finally did make another appearance, he was walking away from me. I waited for a good shot and when he finally turned I took the shot. But just as I squeezed the trigger, the deer turned back so I hit the shoulder too
far forward. I stalked the deer but lost the trail
at a creek. I just got too excited and rushed the shot. I knew better.” It was bad luck – just part of hunting.
“The next year, Triple Crown surfaced again on my trailcam with only a spike rack and appeared to be recovering. The deer showed up a few more times before two years later, my neighbor finally bagged him. I was happy for my friend as it was time to cull this deer.”
56 | March 2020 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
SPORTS & OUTDOORS
story and photos by Frank Wilem